The huge former Debenhams building on Market Street in Manchester has finally had its fate decided with plans for Rylands Manchester, an office, retail and leisure complex being revealed.
Rylands said: “The Rylands building in Manchester will be sensitively restored to its elegant past whilst also delivering state of the art office, retail and leisure space unlike anything else in Manchester.”
The Grade II listed building in Manchester city centre will undergo extensive modernisation, including fully redeveloping the existing building, converting the upper floors into high-quality office space and creating a shopping arcade on the ground floor.
Real estate firm AM Alpha will also add a four-storey extension to the building meaning Rylands Manchester plans to boast ten floors of high-quality office space, a shopping arcade and a leisure area, mainly for restaurant businesses, after the refurbishment.
In addition, there’ll be The Atrium at the heart of the building, a light and airy modern workspace for working from home, and Winter Gardens for getting some much-needed vitamin D even when the heavens open.
Works will begin this year with a view to completing the transformation by 2025, and the building is designed to achieve Net Zero Carbon status.
Stephan Schmid, Senior Vice President at AM alpha said: “Working with listed buildings is always a great privilege. We are proud to be able to give this historic Manchester landmark a new future and restore Rylands to its former glory in a very sustainable way. In this way, we are also helping to achieve Greater Manchester’s 2038 carbon neutrality target.”
Will Lewis, founding director at local construction firm OBI, said: “It’s fantastic working with AM alpha on such an exciting project in our home town. Rylands is a well-known, impressive building.
“The property is close to bustling areas such as Piccadilly Gardens and the Northern Quarter and will appeal to many local businesses. Due to the sought-after location, we already see a lot of interest from potential future tenants.”
We’re so excited to see the finished product and what it will inevitably bring to the city.